"The answer is Love and Compassion for all Humanity."
Bill Pelke, founder

Sunday, 27 January 2013

January 22, 2013

Hello again,

I had a goal of doing a lot more writing for the blog this year but it has been some days since I have written.

My father, Robert C. Pelke joined his personal Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on January 10th .
He is now a part of that great host of witnesses in Heaven above.
I offered an eulogy at his funeral. I have copied it here.

I am on an airplane headed from Alaska to South Carolina. My father is dying. He had a major stroke about 12 hours ago and is in a coma and they say he will not come out of it. He is 93 years old. I hope I get to South Carolina and see him before he dies. But it is more than likely he will be in Heaven with his creator by the time I arrive. I want to see mom and I want to see my sister. Dottie has been the perfect sister in my eyes, helping take care of mom and dad these many years. I am so grateful for everything that Dottie and her family have done for them.

I always knew that someday I would get that call, but I wasn’t ready for it. When I saw my niece Kim had called I was hoping it was about my scheduled upcoming trip to Prosperity, SC next month when I was to parent sit for mom and dad because Dottie and her daughter Kim are taking Sean, Kim’s son to Florida to look at a college he is likely to attend next year. I often expected bad news when I would see Kim’s number, esp. if it was unexpected call. Kim is the one who always passes on to me medical news about mom and dad.

The message was that dad had a stroke.

Kim’s brother Scott is a family doctor in the Columbia area. I talked to my nephew about six hours ago and he told me that it was just a matter of time.

So, I have been thinking a lot about my dad the last few hours. My dad has been good man. He loves his family and he loves his God. He will soon be in God’s presence. I will soon be saying Father, into thy hands I commend my father’s spirit

I was so looking forward to parent sitting. I have so enjoyed the visits I have taken to see my mom and dad. The added bonus is that they live with my sister Dottie and her husband Frank and all her kids and grandkids live nearby, except Andy who lives in California.

My dad loved to listen to books that were on tape. He especially loved mysteries and Parry Mason was one of his favorites. I used to just sit on the couch and listen to them with him for hours at a time.

He could not see well. He only has peripheral vision. He would tell people that he could see everything but what he was looking at. For football games he would sit in a wheel chair that sat ride to the side of the TV. He could see the different colors of uniforms and see them moving. He really loved to see the movement and hear the announcers describe the plays.

My dad was a faithful man. I don’t know for sure but would bet my dad was at church last Sunday. He was always there. I am sure that whenever his pastor saw dad wasn’t there, he knew that something was wrong. My dad has been extremely faithful to every church he has attended.

I was so proud to post on facebook back in September how my parents had celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary. I didn’t think or want it to be their last. I have had so many thoughts of my dad today it would be impossible to recall them all.

But he is a good man, and his father Oscar was a good man before him. Both men were highly respected at work, church, community and in the family. Granddad and my dad were two excellent examples that God placed in my life. I thank Him for that.

On a terrible day in 1985 my father found my grandmothers body the day after she had been brutally stabbed to death. I watched my father during the wake and the funeral. He greeted people, talked with them and prayed with them. He was the son that my granddad raised him to be. I don’t know how he was able to do it but I was never so proud watching how he carried himself during that horrible time.

I do know the last thing I said to my dad was "I love you dad." That is how I ended every phone conversation. On this occasion it was on Christmas day. He responded by saying "I love you honey".

There is so much I want to say to him. I had planned on filming conversations with my dad on my I-phone and spending hours talking about his life history. I mostly was looking forward to hearing stories from him, but there were a few things I had wanted to talk about for years and thought I would get that chance next month.

When I arrived to the hospital in Columbia my father was still alive. I was able to spend the last two and one half hours of his life with him. I am so grateful to have made it there before he died.

I did find out that my dad had attended church the Sunday before he died. In fact he attended the morning and evening services. Yes, that was my dad, a faithful at the age of 93.

On Monday night he watched the National Championship Bowl game when Alabama Crimson Tide beat his long time Purdue rivalry Notre Dame. He enjoyed the game immensely, went to sleep that night after the game and never woke up again.Dad was greeted by the words of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, "Well done thou good and faithful servant:" Enter you into the joy of your Lord."

I thank God for the hundreds of prayers and best wishes that were sent my way. I felt your tremendous support and gathered strength that was needed to get through those extremely difficult days.

I will end this with full intention of writing much more soon about the Journey of Hope and what we are trying to accomplish in the near future. It is very exciting. At this moment I am very encouraged and I will be sharing with you why.

Bill Pelke

Bill Pelke, Anchorage AK -- Bill authored a book entitled Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing, which details the May 14, 1985 murder of his grandmother Ruth Elizabeth Pelke, a Bible teacher, by four teenage girls. Paula Cooper who was deemed to be the ringleader was sentenced to die in the electric chair by the state of Indiana. She was fifteen-years-old at the time of the murder. Pelke originally support the sentence of death for Cooper, but went through a spiritual transformation in 1986 after praying for love and compassion for Paula Cooper and her family. He became successfully involved in an international crusade on Paula's behalf and in 1989 her sentenced was commuted to sixty years in prison. Over 2 million people from Europe, mostly Italy, signed petitions that Paula be removed from death row. Pope John Paul II’s request for mercy, Paula was taken off of death row and her sentence commuted to sixty years. Bill, a retired steelworker, has dedicated his life to working for abolition of the death penalty. He shares his story of forgiveness and compassion and the healing power of forgiveness. Pelke has traveled to over forty states and ten countries with the Journey of Hope and has told his story thousands of timesFactsPresident and Co-founder of Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing; Chair - PresentBoard Member Journey of Hope…from Violence to Healing; 1997-PresentBoard: National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty; 1996-Present Chair 2004-08 Founding Board Member of Murder Victims Families for Human Rights 2004Board Member MVFHR; 2004-PresentIncorporator of Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation;1993Board Member MVFR; 1991-1998Board Member; Alaskans Against the Death Penalty Cofounder Abolitionist Action Committee; 1993 Author: Journey of Hope…from Violence to HealingLinks to Bill's JourneyThe Hard Road to Forgiveness - Yes Magazine - Mary Sue PennMoving Towards Abolition - The Witness Some murder victims' kin reject capital punishment; others endorse the sanction - Richmond Times-DispatchIn Memory of James V. Allridge IIIBill Pelke's portrait at "Our friends in prison"The Optimism Club - Bill Pelke "Forgiveness vs revenge"Interview with Swiss organization "Lifespark"the greatest part of God’s love is the forgiveness that

George White

George White, ALOn February 27, 1985 in Enterprise, Alabama, George was living his little piece of the American Dream. Husband of Charlene and father of Tom and Christie, he was a successful, business-degreed executive, Sunday school teacher, little league coach and PTA president -- a yuppie in southeast Alabama. That evening everything changed.When George, vice-president of Townsend Building Supply, Inc., and his wife, Char, stopped at his store after business hours, they thought they were doing a favor for a man who urgently needed an item for an emergency home repair. Instead, they experienced firsthand the insanity and horror of murder. A masked gunman entered the building and shot the pair repeatedly during an armed robbery. George suffered gunshot wounds to his left arm, thigh and abdomen during a struggle with the gunman. Following emergency surgery, George survived. His wife was not so lucky. Char was pronounced dead at the hospital after sustaining two gunshot wounds to the head. Tom and Christie were only twelve and five at the time of their mother's death. The nightmare had only just begun.Sixteen months later George was charged with the murder of his wife. The State sought the death penalty, and, following a trial that was later characterized as a mockery and a sham, George was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Incarcerated for a total of two years, one hundred and three days, the conviction was overturned in 1989. George remained in legal limbo for nearly three more years. On April 10, 1992, the prosecution asked that the charge be forevermore dismissed when the proof of George's innocence finally surfaced. The trial court so ruled. The ordeal had lasted for more than seven years.As a survivor of a violent crime, husband of a murder victim, suspect, accused, indigent defendant, convicted murderer, and innocent man exonerated, George understands fully how easy it would be to advocate revenge. However, as a family the Whites reject the death penalty as a solution to heal the wounds of their loss. George says, "I believe that society's laws must offer relief for a victim's anger and loss, and we must be afforded protection from those who would harm us; however, one cannot stop the shedding of blood by causing more blood to be shed. No amount of killing would restore Char to my family or take away the pain of losing her. What began with a horrible act ofviolence should not be memorialized with an act of vengeance." By Abe BonowitzFactsJourney of Hope Cofounder Journey of Hope Board Member 1997-2003; 2006-Journey Ambassador MVFR Board Member 1994-1998

Readers

Journey of Hope... from Violence to Healing Texas Tour 2010

Bill Pelke

Bill Pelke, Anchorage AKBill authored a book entitled Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing, which details the May 14, 1985 murder of his grandmother Ruth Elizabeth Pelke, a Bible teacher, by four teenage girls. Paula Cooper who was deemed to be the ringleader was sentenced to die in the electric chair by the state of Indiana. She was fifteen-years-old at the time of the murder. Pelke originally support the sentence of death for Cooper, but went through a spiritual transformation in 1986 after praying for love and compassion for Paula Cooper and her family. He became successfully involved in an international crusade on Paula's behalf and in 1989 her sentenced was commuted to sixty years in prison. Over 2 million people from Europe, mostly Italy, signed petitions that Paula be removed from death row. Pope John Paul II’s request for mercy, Paula was taken off of death row and her sentence commuted to sixty years. Bill, a retired steelworker, has dedicated his life to working for abolition of the death penalty. He shares his story of forgiveness and compassion and the healing power of forgiveness. Pelke has traveled to over forty states and ten countries with the Journey of Hope and has told his story thousands of timesFactsPresident and Co-founder of Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing; Chair - PresentBoard Member Journey of Hope…from Violence to Healing; 1997-PresentBoard: National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty; 1996-Present Chair 2004-08 Founding Board Member of Murder Victims Families for Human Rights 2004Board Member MVFHR; 2004-PresentIncorporator of Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation;1993Board Member MVFR; 1991-1998Board Member; Alaskans Against the Death Penalty Cofounder Abolitionist Action Committee; 1993 Author: Journey of Hope…from Violence to HealingLinks to Bill's JourneyThe Hard Road to Forgiveness - Yes Magazine - Mary Sue PennMoving Towards Abolition - The Witness Some murder victims' kin reject capital punishment; others endorse the sanction - Richmond Times-DispatchIn Memory of James V. Allridge IIIBill Pelke's portrait at "Our friends in prison"The Optimism Club - Bill Pelke "Forgiveness vs revenge"Interview with Swiss organization "Lifespark"the greatest part of God’s love is the forgiveness that love brings.”